Your Impact

About UK Office of LGBTQ* Resources:

Feast On Equality UK raises funds for the Office for LGBTQ* Resources at the University of Kentucky by hosting our signature fundraising event that will be held on December 1st, 2017 at the Carrick House. The Office for LGBTQ Resources is dedicated to serving LGBT students on campus to strengthen and sustain an inclusive campus community, one that welcomes people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions through support, educational resources, and advocacy. Feast On Equality works in partnership with the University of Kentucky to engage our community, to raise awareness and funds, and to implement programming and other resources in support of their LGBT youth.

Our support has allowed their center to achieve the following:

Support for LGBT members of the university and their allies

Various entities open to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors: including coming-out support groups, emergency assistance for students in crisis, addressing instances of hate and bias, and grants/scholarships for students with financial need to participate in office events and activities.

Educational, social and supportive programming
Including trainings to teach university and community partners to be allies, to interrupt oppression and to become active partners in creating a welcoming space; LGBT-themed study abroad experiences and grants for students who want to learn to design and implement social justice projects.

Coordination for LGBT-related groups and clubs on campus
Including five active LGBT groups and events throughout the year to celebrate the LGBT community like the annual LGBTQ* History Month Speaker, Transgender Week of Awareness activities, and UK Pride Week

Comfortable, accessible space for anyone interested in a place to talk, listen or find support

Including a themed-housing experience for students who want to live and work with peers who are committed to learning more about social justice and the LGBT community.

Want to learn how you can help?

Your sponsorship will help Feast on Equality support local LGBT organizations to implement programming and other resources to support our LGBT youth.

Your Gift Will Make A Difference

Your Feast on Equality sponsorship will help the University of Kentucky’s Office of LGBTQ* Resources accomplish its goal of making sure that every student can find a true sense of belonging at the Commonwealth’s indispensable institution—the University for Kentucky. Through education, advocacy, and community support, UK LGBTQ* Resources helps ensure a welcoming campus and meet all student needs along a full spectrum of identity. Gifts to Feast on Equality truly change lives, from the frightened student struggling to come out of the closet on one end of the continuum to the out, proud campus leader learning the skills to be a community activist on the other.

In the past year, LGBTQ* Resources has engaged in many meaningful projects that impact the educational and social experiences of our students:

Launching the university’s first LGBTQ* specific scholarships and awarding financial assistance to two students in the first annual cycle, providing them additional resources to achieve their academic goals at the institution

Facilitating significant policy changes that impact the everyday lives of LGBTQ* students; crafting and implementing processes essential for our transgender and gender non-conforming students to find a true sense of belonging including an institution-wide preferred name and pronoun policy

Collaborating to update our university applications for admission, resulting in a new application that is the most inclusive in the US South and a model of best practice nationally in the way we ask for gender and provide students opportunities to self-identify sexual orientation and gender identity

Partnering with UK HealthCare providers to launch TransForm Health, the Commonwealth’s first comprehensive LGBTQ* focused clinic of its kind that will provide the highest quality inclusive care to our students on campus and Kentucky citizens across the state

Building and administering a Home for the Holidays program that pairs students who have no place to go for the Thanksgiving and Winter Break with UK employees who open their homes and hearts

Hosting our campus’s first annual Trans Week of Awareness in November and Pride Week in April that highlight the experiences and needs of LGBTQ* Wildcats and provide spaces for students to interact with one another and create new community

Training over 3,000 students, faculty, staff, and community members to be SafeZones, places where students know they can go for a compassionate listening ear and advice on available support resources

Your support also helps Lance Poston and his staff continue the daily work of LGBTQ* Resources: assisting students in crisis, teaching workshops to help faculty and staff create safe campus environments, and providing a full array of programs and events that celebrate LGBTQ* identity. Part of the vision for putting this year’s support to work includes:

Expanding scholarship opportunities to LGBTQ* students who would not otherwise be able to meet the financial demands of higher education

Augmenting regular programming that includes an October LGBTQ* History Month Speaker, November Transgender Week of Awareness activities, and Spring UK Pride Week activities

Supporting a statewide conference for LGBT student leaders and introducing them to resources and support that will make a difference at college campuses across Kentucky for years to come

Launching a study abroad program that specifically focuses on LGBTQ* experiences and providing a substantial scholarship funds to offset the cost of attendance for the first annual student participants

Hiring a graduate assistant to provide additional hands-on support for our five LGBTQ* focused student groups, allowing their membership to grow and flourish with additional structured support and advising